A compendium on brooches in their entirety. With more than 300 images it showcases brooches of 111 international artists and includes profound essays on the phenomenon and history of the brooch, written by Liesbeth den Besten and Julia Wild. It is both: a teaching book on brooch back mechanisms with lots of pictures, details, drawings, and explanations, and moreover, also a wonderful picture book for every lover of contemporary jewellery and brooches.

In the field of contemporary jewellery, the brooch is a very common and also much-discussed form of jewellery. One of the special challenges of making a good brooch is to find an adequate solution for the pin, which connects the piece securely to the body but goes beyond being a mere functional and invisible part of the backside. It should be an essential part of the brooch in terms of content and aesthetics.

The author is convinced that fastening and attachment of a brooch hold a tremendous potential for the design of a brooch in its entirety. As the selection of brooches in this book demonstrates, there is a whole universe of possibilities and varieties. The book is an invitation to come and join this universe while offering an overview and orientation with well-considered chapters and explanations. Simultaneously, it inspires to a conscious approach to the design of the brooch back and its mechanisms through a great collection of images. It presents solutions and possibilities in generating pins and catches and shows examples of how to integrate the technical devices into the whole design of the brooch.

About the author

Daniela Malev was trained as a classical goldsmith and holds a Master Craftman´s Certificate . She also studied at the University of Applied Sciences Trier/Idar-Oberstein, Germany where she earned her BA and MFA in Gemstone and Jewellery Design.

One of her special fields of interest are brooch backs and pin mechanisms and their integration into the design of the whole brooch. She is invited internationally to give workshops on this subject. The fact that there is a great interest in this field, but hardly any literature, inspired her to make this book.